MOORE ANNOUNCES $90M TO REDUCE CARBON, SEEK ‘ENVIRO JUSTICE:’ Gov. Wes Moore announced plans Friday for spending $90 million on reducing carbon pollution in Maryland, using an unexpected pot of money to fight what he called “environmental injustice.” Kiersten Hacker of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
- Electrifying large buildings and expanding Maryland’s capacity of electric school buses and charging stations will be the focus of $90 million in new spending as the state takes its first steps toward fulfilling an aggressive climate plan. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
POLL: BROAD SUPPORT FOR MEDICAL AID IN DYING BILL: A recent poll of Maryland voters suggests broad support for proposed medical aid-in-dying legislation, a widely-debated bill that would a qualifying terminally ill patients to prompt their own death through the help of a physician. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
BILL SEEKS TO PROTECT MEDICAL WORKERS WHO PROVIDE ABORTIONS, GENDER CARE: Maryland lawmakers want to extend legal protections for healthcare workers providing abortions to those who are giving gender affirming care in a new bill. The legislation keeps other states from challenging medical licenses, taking legal action against providers. It also keeps other states from requiring providers to hand over medical records of people who receive care from out of state. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
BILL WOULD ALLOW UNDOCUMENTED TO PURCHASE HEALTH INSURANCE: Sponsored by House Health and Government Operations Chair Bonnie Cullison and Sens. Antonio Hayes and Clarence Lam, all of whom are Democrats, the Access to Care Act would allow undocumented Marylanders to purchase individual health insurance through the state’s Health Benefit Exchange. Hannah Gaskill and Maya Lora/The Baltimore Sun.
VA HEAD: WORK CONTINUES TO CLEAN UP VETERANS HOME: During a budget hearing last week, the head of Maryland’s veterans affairs agency said his department continues to weed out subcontractors and staff who aren’t providing top-quality care at the state-run veterans home, Charlotte Hall. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
COMMENTARY: TO ATTRACT AND CARE FOR SERVICE MEMBERS, THEIR FAMILIES: During the latest round of Air Force base reviews in Maryland, the state received an overall yellow (mid-range) assessment for licensure portability for military families, especially spouses. For public education, one of two bases in the state received an overall yellow rating and the other a red rating, the worst. While there is still much work to be done, it is my intent that bills that I introduced will not only improve our score but will also directly impact and sustain our state’s military community, from active and reserved to their families and loved ones. Del. Mike Griffith/The Aegis.
MOORE HIGHLIGHTS SKILLED WORKER SHORTAGE: Gov. Wes Moore (D) said Friday that one of the biggest challenges that manufacturers are facing in Montgomery County and elsewhere in the state is a shortage of skilled workers—an issue that his administration is focused on tackling. He spoke at the Xometry manufacturer in Gaithersburg. Courtney Cohn/MoCo 360.
COMMENTARY: FIXING THE TRANSIT FUNDING IMBALANCE: While public safety remains one of my top priorities, Maryland’s high cost of living and doing business is also a vitally important issue. Nowhere is the problem more stark than in how our state funds and prioritizes transportation through our Transportation Trust Fund. There remains an imbalance with about half of the fund going to mass transit systems. That is why I am sponsoring Senate Bill 841 that seeks to bring fairness and equality of responsibility back to the funding our roads, bridges and transit systems and also protect the privacy of all Marylanders. Sen. Justin Ready/The Carroll County Times.
OPINION: HEY LAWMAKERS: CLOSE THIS CORPORATE TAX LOOPHOLE: If you think corporations do not pay their fair share to support the society from which they reap great profits — and polls say the majority of us do — then you’ll want to hear about something called “combined reporting” and how Maryland is well behind other states in making it part of our tax laws. Dan Rodricks/The Baltimore Sun.
GREEN BAG DELIVERED; LEE ON LEAVE; SNAKEHEAD FOR DINNER? Gov. Wes Moore (D) is chipping away at a backlog of vacant appointments and expired terms on hundreds of state boards and commissions. Maryland Secretary of State Susan C. Lee is out of the office on medical leave. The snakehead, an invasive species of fish, took another legislative step toward rebranding and, maybe, your dinner table. Bryan Sears and Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
TRONE’s SELF-FINANCED CAMPAIGN A JUGGERNAUT: In the race for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, despite what the Angela Alsobrooks campaign regularly touts in press releases as “record-breaking fundraising” on their part, the self-financed campaign by David Trone — multimillionaire co-owner of Total Wine & More, a nationwide chain of alcohol beverage outlets – clearly has overwhelmed Alsobrooks’ resources. Louis Peck/MoCo 360.
LAWMAKERS WHO WORKED WITH HOGAN SURPRISED BY HIS SENATE RACE: Larry Hogan’s recent decision to run for U.S. Senate comes as a shock to many of the state’s lawmakers — especially Democrats who worked with the former Republican governor and think he wasn’t all that cooperative with the legislature. Now, he’s aiming to serve as a lawmaker himself, this time on the national level. Lydia Hurley/Capital News Service.
HOGAN TAKES SAME PATH IN A VERY DIFFERENT LANDSCAPE: In 2018, Larry Hogan followed a seldom-traveled route to become the first Republican in 70 years to be reelected Maryland governor. He prevailed by presenting a low-key brand of moderation to win critically needed, crossover Democratic votes in one of the nation’s bluest states. Now, Hogan seems poised to adopt a similar approach in his recently announced U.S. Senate campaign, decrying partisan labels and distancing himself from the state Republican Party. But though he is navigating a similar path, the surrounding landscape looks different. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
ENVIRO DEPT FINDS GORE-TEX POLLUTED GROUNDWATER NEAR TWO PLANTS: The maker of the renowned Gore-Tex waterproofing for outdoor gear polluted groundwater near two of its plants in Northeastern Maryland with a hazardous “forever chemical,” according to the Maryland Department of the Environment. Christine Condon/The Baltimore Sun.
HOWARD COUNTY LIBRARY WORKERS VOTE TO FORM UNION: An overwhelming majority of workers with the Howard County Library System voted late last week to form a union, in an effort to advocate for better pay, job protection and safe working conditions. Sherry Greenfield/The Baltimore Sun.
FORMER SPECIAL APPEALS COURT JUDGE JAMES SALMON DIES AT 83: James P. Salmon, former Maryland Special Court of Appeals and Prince George’s Circuit judge, died of double pneumonia Jan. 17 at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was 83. Tony Roberts/The Baltimore Sun.
